Frozen Swan
by ArtsyDJ
Summary: Emma laid her head back on the pillow. Coming out of the sickness that she'd caught from being trapped in the ice cave was far more taxing than she figured...
1. Chapter 1

**Summary **\- Emma laid her head back on the pillow. Coming out of the sickness that she'd caught from being trapped in the ice cave was far more taxing than she figured...

**Setting **\- Season 4, after episode 2. Off Canon.

**Disclaimer** \- Once Upon A Time is owned by ABC and Eddie and Adam. I'm just taking them out to play with for a bit.

**A/N**\- The beginning of this story has been sitting for months and after thecaptainswan requested more Frozen arc stories, I decided to post it. Don't worry, friends! There is more to this story, I just need to finish it. ;)

Enjoy!

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David had returned to the police station the morning after the "Ice Cave Incident" as they'd affectionately dubbed it. The night before at everyone's insistence, Elsa came home with them and wouldn't stop apologizing for the upset she'd caused after unintentionally trapping herself and Emma in the ice cave.

Emma was so cold and even after warming up quite a bit with Hook and her family, cold shivers ran down her spine resulting in her jerking here and there. Eventually Emma was so exhausted that she headed to bed. Snow watched her daughter with a wary eye. She knew the after effects of such an incident wouldn't go smoothly. She and Charming had had far too many run ins with magic in the Enchanted Forest for her to think both knew all too well that "magic always comes with a price."

Emma was so out of it that she didn't fuss when her father and Hook walked her upstairs, nor did she hardly make a sound when Snow went to work unzipping her boots and tucking her in.

Snow and Charming shared an amused look as their normally vocal and stubborn daughter was put to bed by her parents and didn't so much as cock an eyebrow. Yes, they knew they'd be feeling the after affects for a while.

The next morning found Emma pretty much dead to the world; fairly normal for her, but even her dad noticed that she was still completely sacked out when he left for the station an hour later than normal. After gently placing a kiss on her forehead and feeling the chill, he had placed another blanket over her, all the while being so grateful that she was home and in bed… and alive.

Hook had volunteered to stay with Emma while she slept so David and Snow could go to work. He'd assured David that he would call if they needed anything. With that, David had left, comforted by the fact that his daughter was safe.

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The quiet loft became, well, not quite so quiet as the stubborn (and still shivering) Emma Swan awoke. She groaned as her body protested the movement. She ached, everywhere. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she pushed her way out of the mountains of blankets she was buried under. And yet, she was still cold.

And then it came...the cough… and the chills. Ugh, while Emma did not want to acknowledge it, she knew she was more than likely sick. Yeah, no, she would just ignore it. That seemed like a good plan. She needed to get to work anyway.

Hook, bless his heart, protested quite intensely as Emma got up and dressed. She left in a huff, stating that she had work that wouldn't wait and that she was fine. But she left the loft on clearly shaky legs and without eating or drinking anything.

* * *

"Sheriffing," as her mom called it, was Emma's least favorite thing to do when she was sick. Except, she wasn't sick, or was she? Even she didn't know...

It was close to lunchtime when Emma slumped down at her desk, piles of paperwork stared back at her. While David was an excellent addition to the department, there were still some tasks that the sheriff herself had to take care of. One of those being putting her signature on what felt like endless mountains of paperwork.

She began the arduous task of sorting and filing. Without warning, on one of her trips to the filing cabinets, her legs felt unsteady and the room began shaking. She knew it was due to the past twenty four hours and then not eating this morning.

Thankful that her dad's back was to her, she placed a hand on her desk as she slowly made it back to her chair. Once she was seated the spinning slowed and she began plowing through more paperwork, this time making piles instead of endless ups and downs.

Finally everything settled and Emma decided she could stand. She grabbed a pile of paperwork and stood. Smiling at the fact that her legs felt strong. One step toward the filing cabinet and that strength gave way. The room began spinning wildly and her legs gave out. Emma lost her grip on the paperwork and it fell to the floor… along with her.

With the noise of papers falling, David turned around to find Emma's hand on her desk as her knees gave way. "Emma!" He dove for her body as it crumpled toward the floor. In a move only Prince Charming himself could have made, he caught her as she was just inches from the floor. Cradling her head, he laid it on the ground gently. "Emma, can you hear me?" Immediately checking for a pulse and breath, David was assured that she was alive, she'd just passed out.

"Emma!" He was bordering on frantic when his daughter's eyelids began to flutter and she took a deep breath in. She looked up at him, squinting her eyes against the somewhat still spinning room. "Dad." It came out as a whisper, but he didn't miss it for the world. She sounded like a child. "I'm right here, Emma." He tenderly stroked her cheek.

"What happened?" She asked as she searched his face for an answer. "Looks like you passed out, sweetie." As David's eyes met hers, she saw the concern and love shining through.

Emma swallowed hard and attempted to sit up, but the room began spinning again. Instead she leaned back on her dad's shoulder. David wrapped his arm around her to steady her.

He gently ran his hand over her upper arm, "this is why I hoped you'd stay home, at least for today." His touch gentle, but his eyes locked on hers. Concerned dad, mixed with the protective father made for an infuriating combo that today she didn't want, even if it was what she had always wished for growing up.

"I know, but I had stuff that needed to get done." It came out bordering on a whiny tone. "Plus I didn't think I could handle lying in bed all day." The next words out of her mouth made her father bite back a smile. "I'm really fine." She protested, sounding much more like the daughter he knew.

Suddenly David heard Emma's stomach growl, protective dad stare in full force. "Have you had anything to eat today?" Emma shook her head, instantly regretting it. "No. I actually don't think I even drank anything before I left either…" she trailed off as she added the last part. And all at once it hit her, her lips were parched and her mouth was so dry. Everything was aching too.

David just gazed her direction, "oh sweetie. Last night took a lot out of you." He tenderly rubbed her arm. "Let's get you back home and some food in you."

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**A/N** \- That's it for now. Stay tuned for more!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - Finally getting the next chapter up. Sorry it's taken a while. As I've said before (and this is especially true of fanfics for me) that I need some solid inspiration before writing these. Thank you for bearing with me as sometimes these take a while to get out. :) And thank you for all the amazing reviews! You're all the BEST!**

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Emma inhaled a deep breath knowing she wasn't going to win this battle. "Yeah, okay." She shot a small smile in her dad's direction. A silent motion that she appreciated him more than she could say. "I just really don't want to feel like this." She buried her face in her hands, slowly shaking her head. Her father just smiled at her, "You know Emma, we're more alike than you probably want to admit. I've got quite a stubborn streak running through my own blood." Emma snorted and raised her eyebrows, "you?" "No really, your mother could tell you plenty of stories…" He chuckled at the memories. "Okay, you've got me. I guess I come by the stubbornness naturally." Despite her dizziness, Emma's eyes glistened as she watched her dad.

A soft smile graced David's face. "Alright, now let's get you home." He cleared his throat as he shifted away from his daughter enough so he could stand, as he did he noticed her upper body sway slightly.

"You okay?" David made sure his daughter's balance was good enough that he could stand first. "Yeah." Emma settled as she leaned back on her hands. "Just a little dizzy again."

"Well let's do this slowly then." As David helped her to her feet, the room began spinning again. Emma's knees became weak again and it was all David could do to get her seated before she passed out again.

"Emma?"

"Hmmm…"

"That's it. We're going to the hospital."

"Don't want to..." Her voice was weak, unsteady… so soft.

"Sorry sweetie. You've passed out twice on me. You need rest, but you also apparently need to get re-hydrated worse than I thought.."

David grabbed her coat, placed a quick call to Snow and Hook filling them in and after draping Emma's coat around her shoulders, lifted his daughter into his arms. She didn't even protest him carrying her, which to some level made him all the more worried about her.

He hustled to his truck, set Emma on the passenger seat and made it to the hospital in record time.

Emma's skin was ashen when David glanced over at her. She looked so much like she'd looked last night when Hook lifted her out of the ice cave. She'd begun coughing on the drive and he hoped against everything that she wouldn't pass out again.

Compassion for his daughter filled Charming's heart. He was so proud of everything Emma had done since coming here. Finally working her walls down, at least somewhat. But now, here she was, so weak and sick and all she'd been doing last night was trying to talk to Elsa.

"Emma, we're here." Emma barely reacted to her father's words. A soft groan was all that came out. "I'm going to get you a wheelchair. I'll be right back."

That got Emma's attention. "Dad…" she whined. "No. I don't need a ride in. Just help me walk, okay? I know I can do it."

David knew he wouldn't win this. At least not without giving Emma a chance to prove herself. "Okay. But if you waver, I'm picking you up." To that comment Emma just rolled her eyes. She knew he wanted to help, but it was rubbing her the wrong way right now.

Somehow though, an upright Emma made it in to the hospital under her own power, albeit leaning heavily on David to keep the world from spinning so rapidly.

She was checked in in record time and before she even had an IV in her arm, her mom burst in the room, hot on her heels was a not any calmer pirate. Snow had dropped everything when she received Charming's call, even dropping Neal off with Granny so she could focus on her daughter.

Snow immediately took her baby's hand. Gripping it in an effort to show Emma that she cared. Emma's body temperature was still a bit low and it made Snow cringe at the temperature difference in the feeling of their hands. But no matter what she didn't miss the slight grasp her daughter gave.

"Emma! I was so worried!" Emma didn't open her eyes, not because she didn't want to see her mother, no, it was mainly to not give the room another chance to begin spinning. But a small smile came across her face as she spoke, "mom. I'm okay." Snow squeezed her daughter's hand again. "I knew last night was rough on you, but I was hoping to keep you out of the hospital." Snow gently brushed some stray blonde hairs out of her daughter's face and Emma knew by the tone her mother was using that she must have been worried out of her mind.

Hook rested his hand on Emma's leg and finally spoke up. "You know love, there are easier ways to get people's attention." A soft snort came from the bed and the mood lightened just a bit as everyone chuckled. "Oh, now that's funny. Me? The one who's seeking attention? Try checking with whomever is causing all this cold…" Sarcasm dripped from her words as she lifted her hand and gestured it around the room. Tension in the room sufficiently cut. Emma let a long breath out, unfortunately for her, it was followed by a coughing fit.

Several deep breaths later, plus her mom rubbing her back and Emma laid back on the bed. The sheets were scratchy and stiff, and yes, she was still cold. Why were hospitals notorious for being cold?

Snow looked over at her quizzically as Emma stretched the sheets up, covering as much of her body as possible. "You okay over there?" Emma huffed. "No, I'm still freezing and these sheets aren't helping." In reality she was annoyed, because seriously, the sheriff in the hospital? Oh that sends a great message to the town...

"Once the doctor comes in we'll have more info, sweetie. Just rest, okay? Let your body take in the fluids." Her mom patted her shoulder tenderly and reached for a loose strand of her daughter's hair. "It's not like I have much of a choice…" Emma's voice trailed off as Snow looked up to see her baby's eyelids closing.

Sweet relief. Snow shot Charming a sweet thank you smile, which he returned by crossing the tiny room and squeezing her shoulders. "Thank you for taking care of her earlier." She looked up at her Prince as he gently placed a kiss on her lips.

With Emma snoozing, there was nothing more to do than wait for the Doctor, and for the re-hydration to take effect. Charming flicked his eyes to the monitor. Her body temperature was still below normal, but some of the color had returned to her face. She was breathing softly when the doctor came in.

Deciding that she needed the rest more than anything, Snow and Charming ushered him back in to the hallway, leaving Hook with their sleeping princess. "What's the verdict, Doc?"

"She's dehydrated, as we figured, and her body is struggling to keep itself warm. I'd like to keep her overnight to see if we can stabilize her internal temperature. Looks like the cough is more than likely just a passing virus, probably brought on by the prolonged exposure to the cold last night. We'll get her settled in a room in a little bit."

Charming thanked the doctor, but before he finished filling in the notes on Emma's chart, Snow spoke up. "Can we get some blankets, for her? She said she was still quite chilly." The doctor looked up, briefly and nodded. "Sure thing. I'm also going to order the next IV bag to be warmed. That way her body will have some support."

"Thank you."

Emma floated in and out of sleep, finally settling into a semi-conscious state until an orderly came in to move her. At which point all hell broke loose.

"They're admitting me?!" Emma's voice rose a few decibels as she realized she wasn't going to be released tonight. "On what premise?" Arms folded, apparently looking for a fight.

David reached over and grabbed her hand. Emma met her Dad's eyes with a sharp glare, the soft, even tone of his voice inadvertently calming her down. "Yes, they are. The first order of business is to get your temperature stable, then make sure you are fully re-hydrated." He leveled her a look that dared her to continue the fight.

Emma pouted, lip stuck out and all. Such a great look for the sheriff.

"Hey, look at it this way," David continued, his voice softening, "at least you'll be warmer tonight than last. And really you'll be out of here in no time."

"I guess…" Emma resigned, pout mode still activated, but finally willing to letting someone help her get situated in the new room.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma thanked her lucky stars that her mom was there. As Snow helped her daughter into a hospital gown, she could tell Emma was on edge, but opted not to push her too much. So she simply helped her change and settle back into bed. The sheriff had no more than climbed back into bed when a nurse arrived with her saving graces, warm blankets and a warmed IV bag. The nurse hooked up the new bag and left them in peace.

Snow unfolded the blankets and laid them over her baby girl. As she did, Emma sank deeper into the bed, finally accepting the fact that she was stuck there for the night and allowed her body to relax. With a deep sigh, Emma's eyelids fluttered, resting in a half closed, kind of asleep, but not fully out state. David leaned in and whispered something to Snow. A small smile graced Snow's face as she nodded. Now that Emma was settled and currently at no risk of trying to escape, David and Hook left in search of some food. Hoping they'd find something that Emma would devour was the plan.

Snow sat back and began to relax in one of the recliners next to Emma's bed, not relinquishing the grip Emma had on her hand. As Emma fully and finally went to sleep, Snow hummed softly, hoping to send her daughter into a pleasant dreaming state. However, a few minutes later something startled Emma, bringing her to full alertness.

She jerked as she woke, sending a rush of aches through her body and bringing on a coughing fit. "Hey, hey." Snow soothed. "You're okay. I'm right here." "Mom?" Emma's voice sounded like a little girl, so soft and unsure. Snow gently brushed some stray hairs out of Emma's face and rubbed her back in hopes of sending the coughs back to where they came from. "Yeah baby, I haven't gone anywhere." Emma took a deep breath, grasping her mom's hand.

Once she was sure that Emma was quieting down again Snow sat back down. Her thoughts running on a loop between dreaming about what life would have been like had Emma grown up with them and the terrifying thoughts of how the past twenty four hours would have played out had David and Hook not known Emma's whereabouts.

She was drawn out of the thoughts by a soft knock on the door. "Mom?" Henry's voice directed her to look over. "Henry, hi." A soft smile came across the young man's face as he looked at his mom. "How is she?" Henry whispered, clearly conscious of the situation. Snow carefully released Emma's hand, hoping that she wouldn't wake again and stood, ushering Henry out into the hallway. As she saw the worry in his eyes, she draped her arm around her grandson and gave him the rundown on his mom. "She should be able to come home in the morning." The two shared a smile, knowing that come hell or high water, as long as Emma was cleared to do so she would be sleeping in her own bed the next night.

Just then Elsa appeared. "Elsa. What are you doing here?" Snow questioned, wary of letting the woman anywhere near her daughter. Elsa lowered her head as she recognized Snow's motherly tone. "I just feel awful about last night and how things are playing out today. I never meant to make Emma sick…" Her voice and tone told Snow everything she needed to know. Snow gently placed a hand on Elsa's shoulder and nodded. "It's okay. The doctor said she'll be fine. And honestly, part of this was brought on by her not taking care of herself this morning." Snow shook her head. "She's just so stubborn." She muttered under her breath. "Well she's sleeping now and David and Hook are out in search of food. Do you guys mind hanging out in the waiting room til she's awake?" Henry shrugged and shook his head. "I want to be here, so yeah I'll wait. C'mon Elsa."

Henry led Elsa down the hall to a large room filled with chairs. They both sat down, Henry pulling a book from his backpack and Elsa just in awe of this crazy world around her.

After Henry and Elsa were set, Snow pulled out her phone, alerting her husband to the fact that their grandson and Elsa were here now too and to pick up enough food for them.

Shortly before David and Hook arrived, Emma began to stir. As she opened her eyes, she searched for her mom. Realizing Emma was awake, Snow bolted out of the chair and stood. "Hi sweetheart." Emma blinked, pulling herself out of her sleepy state. "How long was I out?" "Oh, a little more than an hour. How do you feel?" Emma swallowed and licked her lips. "Better than earlier. That's for sure." Mother and daughter shared a sweet smile. "Thanks for staying." "Oh Emma, you're so welcome." Snow paused, momentarily reconsidering what she was about to say, deciding to go ahead anyway. "You have some guests. That is if you're up for it at least." Emma's eyes brightened at the thought of guests. "Yes!" She practically squealed. Suddenly embarrassed, she sank back a bit in the bed. Her mom, hid a smile. "Okay, I'll go get them." She squeezed her baby's hand before heading out to the waiting room.

As Snow stepped into the waiting room, she was shocked to see not only Henry and Elsa, but also David and Hook. "Well, hi everyone!" "Is my mom awake?" Henry was the first to pipe up and Snow smiled at him. "She is. And she's ready to see everyone. But, all she knows is that she has some visitors, not who." She winked, a sly tone to her voice.

"So what did you and Hook get for dinner?" Snow asked, diverting her attention toward her husband. David cleared his throat and glanced at the bags he and Hook were holding. "We got some grilled cheese sandwiches, onion rings for the frozen one, macaroni and cheese and some salad." He winked back at Snow, both of them fully aware of what Emma would and would not eat.

"Alright everyone, let's go see her." And indulgent smile ran across Snow's lips as she motioned for them to follow her.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - I'm sorry for the amount of time it's taken to come back to this little story! So without further adieu here is the next installment. :)**

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Snow poked her head into the room to see if Emma was still awake. She was indeed and quite preoccupied with her phone while drowning in the blankets, but her temperature was finally stabilizing, so it didn't matter. Snow pushed the door open a little further before everyone else followed. "Honey?" Emma looked up, "yeah?" "I brought back some guests. You up for it?" A warm smile lit the sheriff's face. "Of course!"

"Mom!" Henry was the second one through the door and he raced to Emma's side, jostling her as he wrapped his arms around her. "When Grandma said you were in the hospital..." The young man's voice trailed off. "Whoa, kid. Easy there, I'm okay." "Sorry, mom." Henry apologized as he noticed the cast on her arm. "What happened?" Emma followed Henry's eyes. "Oh, this." Emma wiggled her fingers a bit. "I fell last night and didn't even realize it was hurt until just before Grandpa brought me in." Henry's face fell. "Hey, don't worry. I only have to wear this for a couple of weeks." Emma lifted Henry's chin, meeting his eyes to reassure him.

After some reassuring all the way around that Emma was indeed fine, suggesting that her body just needed a little extra help right now, the group settled down to eat dinner. "Gosh this is so good!" Emma exclaimed as she polished off her grilled cheese sandwich. After not eating all day, she hadn't realized just how hungry she was and the cheesy goodness hit the spot.

As the conversation during dinner carried on, Hook finished his food and settled in next to Emma, wrapping his arm around her and providing a bit more warmth to her still chilled body. Emma leaned into him and before anyone knew it she was fast asleep, snoozing with her head on her pirate's shoulder.

With the realization that Emma was asleep and more than likely down for the count, the talking in the room quieted down significantly and everyone helped clean up. Elsa went with David and Henry to get Neal and head home for the night. And Hook? Well Snow decided that since Emma was wrapped up in his warmth that it would do more harm than good to move him. Noticing Emma shiver, Snow draped another blanket on top of her and handed one to Hook in the process.

Knowing full well that Snow would refuse to leave her baby for the night, David dropped a sweet goodnight kiss on his bride's lips. "See you in the morning." He whispered as he softly closed the door behind him. As she turned around, Snow smiled at the sight before her. Her precious blonde girl was fast asleep on none other than Captain Hook's shoulder. The fact that Emma had found someone to trust and someone that believed in her didn't surprise Snow as much as the "who" did. She never would have guessed that Emma and Hook would, as she knew they were, fall in love. Snow settled into the recliner, a small smile on her face as she now knew her baby would be okay.

Probably somewhere around three in the morning, Hook found himself unable to sleep as Emma shifted in her sleep and thoughts ran rampantly through his mind. He finally rose, jostling the bed as minimally as possible and moved to find some coffee and walk the halls for a bit.

Emma stirred and shivered as the bed became cool. Movement in the room bringing Snow to full alertness. The motherly instinct in her said something was up and she was right. The cast on Emma's arm made it nearly impossible for her to pull the covers up and Snow could tell she was frustrated. Being Emma's mother was rough. The decisions that were made at Emma's birth had left many wounds and repercussions as they worked through them as much as possible now. So Snow did what she could for Emma when Emma would allow and this was the perfect time.

As Snow fluffed the pillow under Emma's head and placed one under her broken arm, Emma began to crack.

"Mom?" "Yeah baby, what's up?" Emma sniffled and took a deep breath. This was hard doggone it and honestly Emma hated it, but she desperately needed some comfort and this was it. She was alone with her mom for the first time in what felt like forever. Taking a deep breath, Emma coughed, cringing at the pain it caused to her arm, but plowed forward anyway. "I was so scared last night…." The blonde glanced over, meeting her mother's eyes. "I didn't know what was going to happen. It was terrifying." Snow reached over and squeezed Emma's hand, a silent gesture that she was listening and not going anywhere. "It was freezing and I remember as I began to pass out, that Elsa was there and trying to keep me awake, but my body felt like it was shutting down. I could barely focus on anything anymore. I'm not even sure what gave me the strength to get up…" Snow's eyes filled with tears. "I'm just thankful your dad was there with you and knew you were trapped. I don't even want to think about what might have happened otherwise…" Snow trailed off. "Mom." That caught Snow's attention. "I made it. Dad was there. Hook was there. Without them who knows, but I'm here." At that Snow embraced her daughter in a loving hug.


End file.
